Critical Mass PR

I’m a big music fan and Dr Pepper is my soft drink of choice, so the Dr Pepper / Guns N’ Roses debacle is too hard to resist even though others have covered it well. I particularly like Keith Zimmerman’s take on The 1to1 Blog. My perspective focuses on how this stunt has the potential to either achieve critical mass or become just another lost opportunity.

In March, Dr Pepper for one reason or another declared that if the long-delayed Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy album saw the light of day in 2008, it would treat every American to a free bottle of Dr Pepper. (Hear the title track.)

At first, this appeared to be a joke, and possibly a jab at Guns N’ Roses. The good Dr was publicly suggesting that since the band had been recording Democracy for fourteen years (its last release was 93’s covers album, The Spaghetti Incident?), the odds of finishing this year were nil. Was this just random blabbering, the seedlings of an intended advertising campaign, or even a publicity stunt constructed by both camps?

The elements of this story have been sporadic since March. The band posted a trite statement thanking Dr Pepper for its out-of-the blue support, then the story went flat until Guns N’ Roses announced October 22nd that it indeed would release Democracy this year – on November 23rd with Best Buy handling exclusive retail distribution.

Unless an integrated campaign with mult- and social media elements is awaiting the album’s release date, it looks like Dr Pepper just mouthed off and is now suddenly faced with the reality of fulfilling its promise.

The Dr Pepper Snapple Group in late October announced meager details regarding its freebie redemption process. Basically, on November 23rd, for 24 hours only, Americans can visit www.drpepper.com and register for a coupon they won’t receive until weeks later to then redeem for their free soda.

Opportunities At Hand

At minimum there’s a sizeable lead generation opportunity awaiting Dr Pepper later this month. I can’t help but think there are opportunities about to be wasted here. A look at Dr Pepper’s Web site reveals no mention of the Democracy album pledge. MySpace appears to be the only mention of community and social media – a sound choice for a beverage brand given the millions of members and demographics. And there, a few Democracy mentions can be found. The band also mentions Dr Pepper on its own community. (Math is the understandable challenge. Serving up hundreds of millions of free sodas? That’s likely the dodge here.)

Imagine what community feedback could do for Dr Pepper. Hundreds of ideas would pour in if requested. Perhaps Axl and company could appear in a release-day commercial for Dr Pepper; or maybe they will. A press conference would provide photo opps galore. I assume the one here is, well, doctored up.

Following the social media thought process, Dr Pepper could consider what Pepsi did just last week to help promote its new image, sending a case of soda with its new logo and other materials to 25 blog and digital media influentials including Peter Shankman and Chris Brogan. Here’s a brand that demonstrates “getting it,” and a willingness to accept some growing pains along the way.

Me, I’d cast Axl in a remake of the famous late 70’s Dr Pepper TV commercial. I believe Barry Manilow penned the lyrics. There’s a musical crossroads for ya!

There’s certainly a behind the scenes story here with more details. Hopefully it will be revealed to us later this month. I’d love to hear more about what brought this dare about in the first place, and who all was responsible. A quick Google search shows that the Dr Pepper advertising account was up for review not long ago. Maybe this has something to do with it.

Guns N’ Roses, I believe, will put their best effort forth to regain former glory and add new fans. Their long recording absence suggests this focus is best. Meanwhile, it looks like the rest of the soda pop rock story may fizzle.

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